er read Ibsen's _Pillars
of Society_, which of course he hadn't. Then we went down in the lift,
and back to the hotel for Aunt Mary, who naturally wanted to shop; and
by the time she had finished buying veils and cold cream it was time for
lunch, which we had in one of the most charming restaurants I was ever
in, on the Corniche Road. I don't care so very much about good things to
eat; but I do think that oysters, _langouste a l'Americaine_,
_bouillabaisse a la Provencale_, perfectly cooked and served, and mixed
with a heavenly view, may be something to rave about. Oh, there's a lot
to see and do in Marseilles, I assure you, Dad, though one's friends
never seem to tell you much about it; and it was three o'clock in the
afternoon before I would consent to be torn away. Of course, so far
south the daylight lingers long; still, we knew we had but an hour and
a half more of it when we started. There had been a shower of rain while
Aunt Mary and I were packing, and we had not been out of the hotel many
minutes when we had a surprise.

Jimmy was driving along a paved street, slimy with fresh mud, and
confusing with the dash and clash of electric street cars, which Jimmy
is English enough to call "trams." He tried to pass one on the off side,
but just as he was getting ahead of it another huge car came whizzing
along from the opposite direction. I didn't say a word. I just "sat
tight," but I had the queerest feeling in my feet as if I wanted to jump
or do something. It looked as if we were going to be pinched right
between the two, and I'd have given a good deal if Brown had been at the
helm, for I would have been sure that somehow he'd contrive to get us
through all right. But Jimmy lost his head--and indeed there are only a
few men who wouldn't, for the drivers of both cars were furiously
clanging their bells, and the whole world seemed to be nothing but
noise, noise, and great moving things coming every way at once. He
jammed on the brakes suddenly, which was just what Brown in the
_tonneau_ was trying to warn him not to do, and before I knew what had
happened our automobile waltzed round on the road with a slippery sort
of slide, the way your foot does when you step on ice under snow.

I thought we were finished, and I'm afraid I shut my eyes. "Just like a
girl!" O yes, thank you; I know that; but I didn't know it or anything
else at that minute. There was loud shouting and swearing, then a bump,
a noise of splintering wo